November Newsletter by Matthew Friedman

New York District Division 7

Newsletter November 2020

Table of Contents 1

Cover

Table of Contents

Lieutenant Governor's Greeting

Governor’s Bulletin

Service Spotlights

MRF Competition Winner

Member of the Month

Fall Rally

Divisional

Dues

Key Club Week

Fundraising Goals

13-14

Fundraising Ideas

15-16

Service Ideas and Trick or Treat for UNICEF

NYDKC Projects

New York Kiwanis

International Partners

Social Media

Paperwork Tracker

22-23

Contact List

Lieutenant Governor’s Greeting: Hey Division 7! How are you all doing? My month is off to a pretty good start, and I'm about to submit the remainder of my college apps. They’re going pretty well for me so far. I am definitely excited to finish them up. Hopefully, college apps are also going well for all of you seniors reading this. November is also a very important time for Key Club in general. In typical years, clubs would be in full swing at this point and hosting many service projects and meetings. Not all of that is possible this year due to the Covid-19 pandemic, but I’m hoping that many of your clubs are at least still able to hold some virtual meetings and conduct a few distanced service projects. Based on the MRF results recently, that seems to be the case. Many International and District wide events occur this month as well. On the International side, Key Club week was the first weekend in November, and you can find out more about how Division 7 celebrated later in the newsletter. The deadline for Early Bird dues also occurs right when November ends (December 1). On the District side, Fall Rally and the New York District Positivity Week are both this month. I would love it if many of you participated in these events. Overall, remember to stay safe, healthy, and keep having fun while serving your community. If you get overwhelmed with everything going on, try to take a step back and take a breath. With that said, let’s get into this newsletter! Best, Matt Friedman

4Â

Service Spotlight:

Valley Stream Central On October 24th, 2020 Valley Stream Central’s Key Club teamed up with the Valley Stream Beautification Committee and the Village of Valley Stream to clean up trash from the property along Sunrise Highway. The Valley Stream Beautification committee is a new addition to Valley Stream. They are hoping to work on various projects to make Valley Stream a beautiful community. The event ran from 9 AM to 11 AM and about 25 members of the club attended. Participants were provided with vests, garbage bags, and all materials by the committee. Students and staff members wore masks and practiced safe social distancing as they worked together to beautify the Village Green and help their community! The event was successful and gave members a chance to get out and make a tangible difference in their community and help make our planet a better place. Students got the opportunity to engage with members of the community who share similar passions to help their community be a better place. -

Crystina Windham, Valley Stream Central

Do you have a service project of your own that you’d like to share? Submit it to the Empire Key with this link: https://forms.gle/jxFvqpCeKvUzWTo4A

MRF Competition Winner: Last month’s winner of the MRF Service Hour Competition, for both total and per-capita hours is…

Lynbrook Key Club

Keep up the great work!

Member of the Month:

------New!------ Know someone that has been going above and beyond with their Key Club duties?

Nominate them by filling out the form! Selected nominees will be featured in The Empire Key and/or NYDKC social media.

https://docs.google.com/forms/d/e/1FAIpQLScWYtBOBUZxzWbKhlV8 mphht_zpvX6NlDi0rotnDqwD-k08Vw/viewform 7

Fall Rally: We're almost at our Fall District Conference, so make sure to register ASAP! Who? All Key Clubbers, both members and officers, may attend When? Saturday, November 21st to Sunday, November 22nd from 1-5 PM Where? Your house (or anywhere else)! Why? Meet other Key Clubbers, develop your skills, learn new info, and conduct service How? Zoom! The District Board has been tirelessly working to ensure a successful and engaging virtual conference this year. There will be a wide variety of workshops to choose from along with a service project activity. Personally, I am running the Key Club Reimagined: From In-Person to Virtual workshop. You can sign up for workshops with the registration form below. The deadline to register is Sunday, November 14th. Hopefully many of you are able to attend. It would be great if at least two people from each school registered. Make sure to mark your calendar so you can attend! Registration Form: h ttps://fs29.formsite.com/nydkc/5vsmjybska/index.html

November/December Divisional: Who’s excited for another divisional?? I know I am, and the same is true for the rest of my board [the editor can confirm]. We are looking to host our third divisional of the year sometime after Fall Rally (the weekend of November 21-22), s o it will likely be the first week in December or last week in November. This divisional will be a chance for you guys to get to know each other better and start to form inter-club connections. I will go over how Fall Rally went with you, discuss LTC plans for March, and then split everyone into breakout rooms to meet other Key Clubbers. It will be a very relaxed divisional. Hopefully, you will make some new friends and even start planning a joint service project or two. I will also be meeting with anyone interested in running to be Division 7’s Lieutenant Governor next service year, so make sure to come if you’re considering running.

Dues: Since it's already November, you should have a lready started dues collection or have plans to begin in the coming days. Here are the key points to know for dues collection this year: Dues cost $ 13 but clubs can increase the fee to raise money for their own treasury or to make a donation The Early Bird Deadline for dues has been extended to D ecember 1st (from Nov. 1st) Clubs that submit dues before this deadline will receive a chance to win $100 for a service project or a hotel room for ICON 2021 at Walt Disney World Dues can be collected however works best for you and your club (cash, check, online transactions, etc) You must update your club roster through the Membership Update Center before paying dues Dues can be paid electronically or mailed to Kiwanis International Please reach out to me if you need help collecting dues or submitting them. You should also let me know if dues will be a high financial burden on your club members because of the pandemic.

Key Club Week: ✯ Monday (11/2): Show Your K ➢ Wear a Key Club or Kiwanis Shirt ➢ Use a Key Club/Kiwanis virtual background on meetings ➢ Advertise Key Club on your school’s website ✯ Tuesday (11/3): Kudos to the Key Players ➢ Personally thank your advisors for all they do ➢ Hold a (virtual) appreciation dinner with all club members ✯ Wednesday (11/4): Dare to Share ➢ Highlight instances of Key Clubbers working together ➢ Show the diversity and equality of Key Club ✯ Thursday (11/5): Random Acts of Kindness ➢ Write inspirational messages to other students ➢ Talk to someone who’s having a rough day ✯ Friday (11/6): Connect the Ks ➢ Hold a joint project with your parent Kiwanis Club or a local Builders Club ➢ Reach out and get to know your Kiwanis advisors and counterparts LtG Matt celebrating Show Your K Day.

Valley Stream South members celebrating Random Acts of Kindness Day Lynbrook Key Club celebrating connect the Ks with Joint Kiwanis-Key Club service project

Service Goals: This is our progress as of November 11th, 2020. Let’s keep working on those goals by filling out MRFs and FRFs!

Fundraising Ideas:

Fundraising is generally viewed as difficult- especially in the COVID era when unemployment has wrecked people’s finances and you can’t host in-person events. As we’ve seen with Charity Miles though, it doesn’t have to be. You can now fundraise for a charity by doing something we all do every day: browsing the internet. Numerous organizations have created search engines that benefit charities. One example is E cosia. This functions similarly to Google, and it can even be added to Chrome. However, the company will plant a tree after fulfilling search requests allowing you to help the environment. This is an extremely easy way to have a positive impact on the world, and it tracks the number of trees you’ve helped plant in the top right (www.ecosia.org).

Another similar search engine is SearchScene. The company behind the engine donates 95% of its ad revenue to charities fighting climate change, and you can select the recipient while searching. As with ecosia, this lets you fundraise while progressing through daily life (searchscene.com).

Another set of fundraiser ideas that I’d like to share with you allow you to raise money for charity through your knowledge. The first is UNICEF’s Math for Good. While we begin to return to school in September, millions of impoverished children across the world are unable to. You can help these children obtain an education by raising money for UNICEF through math practice. Each correct answer on the quiz raises $0.25 (www.unicefusa.org/math-quiz).

The second is Free Rice. This is a fundraising platform that acts in a similar manner as UNICEF Math For Good. It allows you to raise money for the World Food Program simply by answering trivia questions in the topic of your choice (world capitals, english vocab, atomic symbols, etc.). Visit freerice.com to start fundraising.

Service Ideas:

While fundraisers are extremely important for the charities they support, it is also great to be able to directly help with service projects. Here are two great virtual service project opportunities:

Tutor Children

Color-A-Smile

This organization seeks to bring smiles to people’s faces through artwork. People of all talent abilities can help by drawing free-art pictures or coloring in designed pages. Once the art is complete, Your Key Club can set up a virtual you can send it to Color-A-Smile tutoring service (using platforms like and it will be distributed to seniors Zoom, Google Meets, and Microsoft Teams) to help elementary and middle in assisted living facilities or military school students keep up academically personnel abroad. The return to school offers new avenues for service projects. One school-oriented service project idea is to tutor younger students in your district.

and provide them with support that may be lacking in online school. Make sure that your school district’s administration approves your tutoring service; cooperation with other organizations in your school, like National Honor Society, can facilitate this approval. By tutoring local students, you have an immediate positive impact on your local community.

Full instructions and submission info are located on the organization’s website: https://colorasmile.org/

More Service Ideas: Work with the UN Looking for a great service project to dedicate your club to? Have your members help out the United Nations! The UN has a myriad of virtual service opportunities that you can participate in. These projects are entirely online and can be done on your own time. Sign up to help with this link: https://www.onlinevolunteering.org/en/opportunities Projects include: ☆ Translating documents ☆ Writing articles about UN projects ☆ Creating social media campaigns ☆ Reviewing annual report drafts ☆ Conducting citizen science research ☆ Online fundraising for COVID-19 emergency response You can also help the UN by participating in Trick or Treat for UNICEF (UN Children’s Fund): Like many other aspects of our world, Trick or Treat for UNICEF has not been cancelled but has been reformatted in a virtual manner this year. Key Clubbers can work together to fill virtual coin collection boxes in support of the Eliminate Project. Participation in various activities and watching videos earns funds for this charity as well. Learn more about our partnership here: https://www.keyclub.org/events/trick-treat-unicef/

NYDKC Projects: District Project: We selected Project Hope to be our District Project this year. This organization “addresses the world’s greatest public health challenges, transform[s] lives and uplift[s] communities.” In the recent months, Project Hope has worked to help combat the Covid-19 pandemic. It also provides general medical aid to resolve health challenges around the world caused by a lack of access to care. By partnering with local healthcare practices and local officials, Project Hope ensures that adequate care is provided, and it also respects national sovereignty along with local customs and culture. If you are thinking of an organization to support with a service project, consider Project Hope. It’s a great organization that helps people both in the US and around the world. You can help by holding fundraisers or holding a service event with a member of the Project Hope Speakers Bureau to raise awareness. You can find more info here: https://www.projecthope.org/ways-to-help/get-involved/

Governor’s Project: C anines for Disabled Kids (CDK) is this service year’s Governor’s Project, meaning it is endorsed by the New York District. This organization’s mission is to increase “independence for children with disabilities and their families by promoting service dog partnerships, understanding and awareness throughout the community.” It provides service dogs to disabled children- at no cost to families- in order to boost their quality of life Supporting CDK through fundraisers or service projects will help provide a priceless gift to a disabled child: his or her own service dog. Find out more here: h ttps://caninesforkids.org/

New York Kiwanis: In addition to the Governor’s Project and District Project, numerous other groups are endorsed for Key Clubs in New York by Kiwanis.. The New York District of Kiwanis runs three charities: Pediatric Lyme Disease Foundation, Kamp Kiwanis, and Pediatric Trauma Center. ● Unfortunately, Kamp Kiwanis is not holding sessions this summer due to the Covid-19 Pandemic, but you can still help the organization prepare for the 2020-2021 summer to make it extra special for those who missed out on camp this year. ● Insurance does not generally cover Lyme Disease, so the Pediatric Lyme Disease Foundation was created to help families pay for the treatment of children with it. ● Kiwanis also sponsors multiple trauma centers to help provide medical care for children throughout New York State.

These are all amazing organizations for your club to help. Some ideas to help support t hese charities are holding fundraisers, raising awareness of their cause, v olunteering at their events, or anything else you can think of.

International Partners:

The Thirst Project seeks to address the growing water crisis by helping construct freshwater wells in areas facing water shortages. Safe drinking water is able to reduce child mortality by about 90%, and easy access to this vital resource frees up time for women and children to gain education and good jobs.

Key Club International designates the Children’s Miracle Network as an international partner. This organization works to ensure that children across North America who need to visit hospitals receive quality care at affordable prices.

Over 10,000 children are treated each day by the 170 hospitals partnered with this organization. In one year, over 10 million kids (or To date, 3,018 projects across 13 countries have been conducted by 10% of the child population of North Thirst Project. The Thirst Project is America) receive treatment. The Children’s Miracle Network is truly one of Key Club International’s Partners, and our two organizations an amazing organization that have worked together on the Thirsty improves the lives of countless children. Without this charity’s 30 campaign for over four years. help, many parents would be left This service campaign s eeks to struggling to pay for their child’s educate people about the healthcare. importance of solving the water crisis while raising funds for Thirst Project’s efforts at the same time.

Social Media:

District: @NYDKC Division: @NYDivision7 International: @kci2021

District: @NYDKC Division: @NYDivision7 International: @KeyClub

Paperwork Tracker:

Contact Information: Division 7 Lieutenant Governor Matthew Friedman, division7@nydkc.org

Division 7 Internal Executive Assistant Alex Eckstein, alexeckstein5100@gmail.com

Division 7 External Executive Assistant Katrina Tronco, katrinatroncooo@gmail.com

Division 7 Secretary

Chloe Moskowitz, chloe.moskowitz@lynbrookschools.org

Division 7 Editor Wren Allegra, wren.allegra123@gmail.com

Circle-K Lieutenant Governor

Omar Gabr, omar.gabr@nycirclek.org Kiwanis Lieutenant Governor Ralph DeSena, rdesena@aol.com

Kiwanis Committee Representative Rebecca Ovadia, woodsidekiwanis@gmail.com

District Governor

Mariam Makar, governor@nydkc.org

District Secretary

Jason Xiong, secretary.nydkc@gmail.com

District Treasurer Winnie Huang, nydkctreasurer@gmail.com

District Editor Rachel Joh, editor@nydkc.org

District Webmaster Kristen Lew, webmaster@nydkc.org

District External Executive Assistant Anthony Lim, anthonylim.ea@nydkc.org

District Internal Executive Assistant Tatiana Solodova, tatianasolodova.ea@nydkc.org

District Administrator Mr. Goldstein, nydkca@frontier.com

Assistant Administrators Michael Berthel, mjberthel@gmail.com Jason Stenier, ianjs@aol.com